Alton (AON)

Alton is the terminus of the Alton Line in Hampshire but also one of the termini of the preserved Mid-Hants Railway (also known as the Watercress Line). The station is shared between National Rail and the preserved railway with platforms 1 and 2 being used by NR and platform 3 for the preserved line.

In South West Trains days, 450 031 and friend wait at Alton

Information
Type:	National Rail (Alton Line) & Preserved Railway (Mid Hants Railway)
Station code:	AON
Opened:	1852
Platforms:	3

The station was opened by the London & South West Railway in 1852 though moved to its current site (immediately adjacent to the old site which now forms the car park) in 1865. Under the guise of the Southern Railway the line from Woking was electrified down to Alton in 1937. The station is nowadays managed by South Western Railway.

The Mid-Hants Railway was a separate line built by the Mid-Hants Railway Company from Winchester in the 1860s, it opened in 1865 and shared the same Alton station as the line from Woking. The line was closed by British Rail in 1973 after a long period of decline (the lack of electrification meaning that through-trains were not possible) but re-opened as a preserved line in 1977 as far as Alresford. However, services were not restored through to Alton until 1985.

BR 9F 92212 arrives at Alton on the Mid-Hants Line

View down the National Rail platform

View across from the heritage line platform

Heritage line platform

SWT 450 001 and friend at Alton, the footbridge in the background offers interchange between the platforms

Bridgnorth

Bridgnorth is the northern terminus of the Severn Valley Railway and is the home of it's steam locomotive depot.

Warship D821 arrives at Bridgnorth

Information
Type:	Preserved Railway (Severn Valley Railway)
Opened:	1862 (Closed 1963)
Re-Opened:	1970
Platforms:	2

Bridgnorth was originally a stop on the Severn Valley Line between Hartlebury and Shrewsbury which was opened by the Severn Valley Railway in 1862. Later on, the line was taken over by the Great Western Railway. The station was closed in 1963 along with much of the rest of the line.

Bridgnorth became the headquarters for the fledgeling Severn Valley Railway Society in the late 1960s and work began on restoring the line to use. The first train ran from Bridgnorth to Hampton Loade in 1970 and since then the SVR has gradually extended down to Kidderminster. However, the line North of Bridgnorth has never been restored and due to the trackbed being built on and other obstacles it is likely Bridgnorth will remain the northern terminus.

The station has undergone a major improvement including a new building in the GWR style to match the rest of the station and refurbished existing facilities. Adjacent to the station is Bridgnorth motive power depot and locomotive works. Access to the town is via a footbridge just outside the station.

1450 in front of the steam shed

D2961 behind the steam shed in a storage yard

55 019 prepares for a future work down the line

D9551 in the storage yard

Diesel and steam in the MPD yard

Bridge of Dun

Bridge of Dun was a stop on the Caledonian Railway in Angus between Dubton and Brechin or Farnell Road. It is now a terminus of a preserved railway.

Bridge of Dun station [1]

Information
Type:	Preserved Railway (Caledonian Railway Brechin)
Opened:	1848
Closed:	1967
Re-Opened:	1993
Platforms:	3

The station was opened by the Aberdeen Railway in 1848, later becoming part of the Caledonian Railway. The station was closed to passengers in 1967 though the line remained open until 1981.

Part of the line has been re-opened by the Caledonian Railway (Brechin). Bridge of Dun was re-opened in 1993 as one of the line's termini.

[1] "The Perth-Dundee-Montrose Section of the LMSR", The Railway Magazine p. 6

Matlock (MAT)

Matlock is the terminus of the Derwent Valley Line. The station used to be an intermediate stop on the Midland Railway's line to Manchester but National Rail only goes as far as Matlock now. The Peak Rail preserved railway continues up the line as far as Rowsley South. The station is located between Matlock Bath and Matlock Riverside.

EMR 170 420 stands at Matlock

Information
Type:	National Rail (Derwent Valley Line) & Preserved Railway (Peak Rail)
Station code:	MAT
Opened:	1849
Platforms:	2

The station was opened, originally called Matlock Bridge, by the Manchester, Buxton, Matlock & Midlands Junction Railway in 1849. The current station buildings date from 1850 remain though most are no longer used by Network Rail (the main station building is now a railway bookshop run on behalf of Peak Rail). The station was renamed to just Matlock in 1905 [1].

The former Station Master's house is a Grade II listed building. The line North of Matlock was closed in 1968. Peak Rail began reopening part of the closed line in 1991 and in 2011 returned to Matlock itself.


National Rail use Platform 1 (where the main buildings are) and Peak Rail use Platform 2. Interchange between the 2 platforms requires going via a bridge and an access route to an adjacent supermarket. East Midland Railway run services from Matlock to Nottingham and Newark Castle via Derby.

Preserved 31 270 stands on the Peak Rail platform

View down the platform

Station building with canopy

Station frontage

EMR 153 319 arrives at Matlock

[1] Vic Mitchell & Keith Smith, Ambergate to Buxton (Middleton Press, 2019) Fig. 22

Highley

Highley is a stop on the Severn Valley Railway in Shropshire between Arley and Country Park Halt.

31 466 arrives at Highley with a Kidderminster Town bound service

Information
Type:	Preserved Railway (Severn Valley Railway)
Opened:	1862 (Closed 1963)
Re-Opened:	1974
Platforms:	1

The station was opened in 1862 next to the river Severn and was an important hub for colliery traffic with four coal mines being nearby. The station is about a mile from the village of Highley however, and passenger traffic was low and became unsustainable in competition with motor buses. The station was closed to passenger traffic in 1963 although coal traffic continued until 1969 when the final mine was closed.

The station was re-opened as part of the Severn Valley Railway in 1974. The station has only a single platform but has a number of storage sidings for engineering stock. Much of the station was untouched after closure apart from the footbridge which was demolished, however the SVR built a new footbridge to accompany the opening of the Engine House. The station's cattle dock survives, though is used for humans these days not cattle, for guards van rides during galas ands open days!

Station view from the footbridge

Two trains stand at Highley

Highley signal box

The cattle dock can be seen on the right, the Engine House in the background

The Engine House

The Engine House is a visitor centre and museum for the SVR's reserve fleet of locomotives and certain special items of rolling stock. The facility opened in 2008 and includes locomotives now out of service. A royal coach and a Post Office sorting coach are also on display.

Inside the Engine House

Norchard

Norchard is the head quarters of the Dean Forest Railway near Lydney in Gloucestershire. It is between Lydney Town and Whitecroft. 

D2069 and a brake van at Norchard

Information
Type:	Preserved Railway (Dean Forest Railway)
Opened:	1991
Platforms:	3

The site of Norchard station was originally home to an endless rope system at the Southern end of a coal field owned by the Park Colliery Company. A power station was later built near the colliery. This ceased operation in 1967 [1]. The Dean Forest Railway purchased the site in 1974 and began building workshops and a two level station which opened for open days in 1978. The line was re-opened between Norchard and the now closed St Mary's Halt in 1991 and through to Lydney Junction in 1995.

Two platforms are on the low-level part of the station (which is a terminus) and one on the high-level which is a through station (and thus main platform) serving as far as Parkside. 

Stock stored at Norchard including a Class 08 and 14

DMU cars under restoration

Wooden shelter

View down the platform

Trackside buildings at Norchard

[1] Vic Mitchell & Keith Smith, Branch Lines Around Lydney (Middleton Press, 2008) Fig. 55

Chinnor

Chinnor is the terminus of the preserved Chinnor & Princes Risborough Railway. It was originally a stop on the Watlington & Princes Risborough Railway in Oxfordshire between Wainhill Crossing Halt and Kingston Crossing Halt.

3-CEP 1198 at Chinnor

Information
Type:	Preserved Railway (Chinnor & Princes Risborough Railway)
Opened:	1872 (Closed 1957)
Re-Opened:	1994
Platforms:	1

The station was opened by the Watlington & Princes Risborough Railway in 1872, later becoming part of the Great Western Railway. The line was closed to passenger traffic in 1957, however it remained open for freight traffic until 1989 when it was finally closed [1]. The line was reopened by the CPRR in 1991.

The original station was demolished after the cessation of passenger traffic. The current station dates from 1994 and was a rebuild of the original building with a main difference being the layout of the chimneys [2]. The station is the headquarters of the railway and host to its storage sidings and yard.

The current Chinnor platform is the opposite side of the line to the original station so passengers need to cross the track, this allows for interesting views of trains at the station. Trains from Chinnor now run through to a platform at Princes Risborough.

Chinnor signal box

A GWR pannier tank locomotive (though in LU livery) at Chinnor

A Class 08 shunts in the yard

View down the platform

Platform view from the road bridge that crosses the line

[1] Brian J. Dickson, The Watlington Branch of the Great Western Railway (CPRR Association, 2014) p. 6
[2] Ibid. p. 30

Bewdley (BEW)

Bewdley is one of the stops on the Severn Valley Railway in Worcestershire between Kidderminster Town and Northwood Halt. 

A train stands on platform 1 and prepares to depart

Information
Type:	Preserved Railway (Severn Valley Railway)
Station code:	BEW
Opened:	1862 (Closed 1970)
Re-Opened:	1974
Platforms:	3

The station was opened in 1862 by the West Midland Railway on their line from Hartlebury to Shrewsbury, later becoming part of the Great Western Railway. Originally Bewdley was a busy junction. The Tenbury & Bewdley Railway opened a line through the Wyre Forest in 1864 [1] and in 1878 a line down to Kidderminster was added by the GWR.



Bewdley began to be run-down in the 1960s along with much of the railway system. The Wyre Forest line closed in 1962 and the Severn Valley line in 1963. The remaining passenger services were ended in 1970 and the station closed. However, by now the Severn Valley Railway project had already started and in 1974 the SVR bought Bewdley station as part of its expansion down from Hampton Loade. Bewdley is one of the main stations on the SVR and was its administrative base until recently. Nowadays, it is the home of the SVR's wagon restoration works. The SVR's heritage DMU fleet is also usually stabled at Bewdley.

Bewdley has three platforms, platforms 2 and 3 being an island platform which is accessed via a footbridge. These platforms are usually the only ones used except at galas when local trains from Kidderminster terminating at Bewdley or specials will use platform 1.

Changing rail usage patterns and commuter need have seen some interest from Network Rail and some train operators like Chiltern Railways to run through services from the network to Bewdley but at the moment (and likely will for the foreseeable future) the station remains part of a preserved railway!

40106 stands at Bewdley

Class 20 viewed from the footbridge

View of the island platform 

Main station building on the left as a Class 31 comes through 

A Western stands at an old "Western" station

[1] Michael Welch, Diesels on the Western (Capital Transport, 2013) p. 5

Lydney Junction

Lydney Junction in Lydney, Gloucestershire is the Southern terminus of the Dean Forest Railway. 

Lydney Junction station building

Information
Type:	Preserved Railway (Dean Forest Railway)
Opened:	1875 (Closed 1964)
Re-opened:	1995
Platforms:	2

The original station, called Lydney Junction (Severn & Wye), was opened by the Severn & Wye Mineral Railway in 1875 linked by a long footbridge [1] from the GWR station (and still open) Lydney. The station had services which crossed the Severn via the Severn Railway Bridge, these services stopped in 1960 when the bridge was badly damaged and later closed. The station officially closed in 1964 and was largely demolished.

All that was left of the original station was one of the platforms, this forms the basis of the new Lydney Junction station which was opened in 1995 when the Dean Forest Railway extended Southwards from the nearby St Mary's Halt. The current station has an island platform and a wooden station building which was originally from Heysham Port. Next to the station are storage sidings for the railway and a signalbox which protects a road crossing.

End of the platform, road crossing and Lydney beyond

Signal box

Storage yard

[1] Vic Mitchell & Keith Smith, Branch Lines Around Lydney (Middleton Press, 2008) Map. VIII

Matlock Riverside

Matlock Riverside is the former Southern terminus of Peak Rail in Derbyshire, the station is now only used occasionally after the terminus moved to Matlock where Peak Rail connects to the mainline [1]. 

Matlock Riverside as seen from a passing train

Information
Type:	Preserved Railway (Peak Rail)
Opened:	1991
Platforms:	1

In the early 1990s Peak Rail was extending South towards Matlock but was having trouble negotiating access to Matlock station. Matlock Riverside was built, a single platform with a run-round loop. In 2008 Peak Rail was finally able to extend to Matlock but Matlock Riverside has been retained as a station for occasional and emergency use.

The station is very basic with a single platform which used to be at Chee Dee Halt. The platform has a shelter but no ticket office.

St Mary's Halt

St Mary's Halt was a stop on the Dean Forest Railway in Lydney, Gloucestershire between Lydney Town and Lydney Junction. 

View of the platform and former run-round loop

Information
Type:	Preserved Railway (Dean Forest Railway)
Opened:	1991
Closed:	2014
Platforms:	1

The station was opened as Lydney Lakeside in 1991 and was the original Southern terminus of the Dean Forest Railway after it extended South from Norchard. There was no station here originally though the footbridge over the line was built in 1892. Near to the site of the station was the West of England Wagon Works which closed in 1959 [1]. The station was renamed St Mary's Halt in 1995 after St Mary's church which is next to the station. 

The station had a single platform which originally came from Blaen Rhondda. Next to the platform is a run-round loop which was in operation while St Mary's Halt was in use as a station. Now the siding contains a collection of wagons of varying condition. The station was closed at the end of 2014.

View of the station nameboard

On the footbridge, St Mary's church is behind the trees!

View from an adjacent footpath

Station view from a nearby level crossing

Another view of the various wagons stored next to the station

[1] Vic Mitchell & Keith Smith, Branch Lines Around Lydney (Middleton Press, 2008) Fig. 45